


Under Wyoming Skies

by Cassiopeia12727



Series: Under Wyoming Skies [2]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:53:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27103762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cassiopeia12727/pseuds/Cassiopeia12727
Summary: In another life, a different version of Mulder, Marty, lives on a Ranch.
Relationships: Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Series: Under Wyoming Skies [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1991650
Comments: 8
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The story was inspired by a photo series of David Duchovny (I had one of the images as a poster from a magazine), in which he was shown standing in the mud, sitting in a truck with Blue, etc. This gave [ trustmescully](https://archiveofourown.org/users/trustmescully/pseuds/trustmescully) the idea for an AU story that was loosely based on Mulder and Scully. It's not humorous, although I thought that the original idea was pretty funny, so please don't take it too seriously. ;)
> 
> I've included an 'alcohol' tag, since there is some drinking in this story, just in case anyone has any issues with that.
> 
> Thanks to [ trustmescully](https://archiveofourown.org/users/trustmescully/pseuds/trustmescully), who not only inspired the story, but also beta read the [ German original](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26780866/chapters/65330569). This is a translation into English of that story (no beta for the EN version).  
> By the way, I don‘t know much about horses, so please forgive me for any incorrect information.

The morning air was cool and humid, when Marty Payne stepped out of his house to start the daily feeding of his horses. He took a deep breath and inhaled the smell of wet earth and fresh grass. In front of him, 40 acres of nature lay spread out, with the impressive steep mountains of Wyoming in the background. The valley was still enveloped in fog, although the mist slowly dwindled, as if the landscape was only slowly awakening from a long sleep. Marty loved mornings like these and getting up early was no problem for him, since he often slept like a log after a long day of work outdoors.

This hadn‘t always been the case, because, a long time ago, he had been tormented by nightmares of his sister every night. Time and again, her cries for help had echoed in his mind: „Mart! Help me!“ Marty still wasn‘t sure why he could hardly remember the most important details from that night. How did the perpetrator gain access to the Paynes‘ house? Why could Marty not remember the face of the abductor at all? Why had he stood there rooted to the spot, instead of at least crying for help, like his sister, or why hadn’t he tried to help her? Nothing about the case made any sense. Only her voice, her face contorted with pain, and her outstretched arms had been burned into his brain.

The incident had torn his family apart and inspired Marty to become a profiler. During his time working for the police, he had met and started to love Tami Duckson, until she showed him her true colors on day and stabbed him in the back. He didn‘t like thinking about that time and was glad that he never lived it up and had thereby saved up enough money to buy himself a little slice of heaven in Wyoming‘s wilderness. He savored the quiet and the fact that no one could tell him how to live his life. The stiff suits and uncomfortable ties from the police station in Washington, D.C. were miles away, and for that he was thankful.

As a child and as a teenager, he had regularly taken care of his uncle‘s horses and read up on the rest of the necessary information after moving to Wyoming. He mostly made a living with riding lessons and horseback trips for tourists, who were more likely to pass by his ranch on their way to the national park, rather than stopping by. Every once in a while, some of his former colleagues contacted him and asked him for assistance on a case, which also helped him financially. However, generally, he didn’t have to worry about money, because his parents left him with enough.

Marty wore a white undershirt under a jeans shirt and a brown sherpa-lined velours jacket. His hands were in the pockets of his faded blue jeans, and he was wearing robust dark brown leather shoes. His face was adorned by a three-day beard, another advantage of living far away from civilization: If no one could see you, you didn’t have to shave every day. His dark hair was casually swept back. He regularly received appreciative looks from women, when going on his weekly shopping trip to the nearest town, but he wasn’t interested in love. An affair, the only thing that he would have considered, would only lead to gossiping among the town’s residents. The company of the animals, the horses and his loyal companion Buddy, a bright collie mix who was vigilantly sitting at his feet, was sufficient for him.

With confident strides and with Buddy at his heel, Marty took the slightly muddy path to the stable. One of Marty’s mares, Willow, was pregnant and she could give birth anytime. Since Marty had never helped with a birth himself, he had decided to call the vet, once the time came closer. Since it was necessary, due to the long distances, he had already forewarned the practice that it could happen the same day. Everything had looked fine in the exam a few weeks prior, but Marty was nonetheless slightly nervous. Although he had always been sure that he would never look back after his relocation, the impending horse birth, the first animal to see the light of day during his time on the ranch, made his decision more official.

Marty could already hear the other horses whinnying from far away. He could not, as usual, hear Willow’s neighing, which made him speed up. Upon arriving at the stable, he quickly opened the heavy door, switched on the light and ran to the last box, in which Willow was located. She was already lying in a corner wheezing. There was no time to lose. Marty quickly said a few words of encouragement to the mare, turned around, and ran straight back to the house to call the vet. He had always been in good shape, which helft him immensely, although he almost lost his balance in the mud a few times. Buddy stayed behind, looking concerned. He sensed that Willow was in pain. Meanwhile, Marty tore open the door after taking the front doors steps two at a time. He reached for the phone, which was located nearby.

“Dr. Peters? This is Marty Payne. I think it’s time.”


	2. Chapter 2

Laura Mack arrived at Marty’s ranch at around 5:10 AM. Fortunately, she happened to be in the area, when Dr. Peters informed her of Willow’s labor. A tall attractive man with dark hair, probably Marty, was already waiting in front of a building that appeared to be the stable, and waved at her. Laura didn’t waste any time with neatly parking her Ford on the property and quickly grabbed her doctor’s bag from the passenger seat before getting out of the car.

“Mr. Payne?” she called towards Marty, her hand extended in greeting. “Laura Mack, pleased to meet you.”

“Marty,” he corrected her and shook her hand. „I expected Dr. Peters,“ he admitted and pointed at the stable. “Willow is in here.”

Laura was dressed adequately for her job. She was wearing navy blue rubber boots, light blue jeans, a tight white V-neck shirt and a black rain jacket, which she left open. Her titian hair was still styled tidily in a modern bob, which would certainly change soon. Animal births were always especially messy. However, she didn’t mind. She purposely chose to abandon her biology major to study veterinary medicine instead. She had left her family’s hometown of San Diego, after the death of her sister Miranda. After the incident, California had brought back too many memories and Laura just wanted to get away from the big city and away from all the people.

Laura replied to Marty's comment on their way to Willow’s box. “Dr. Peters sends his greetings, but he could not have made it on time. I happened to be 10 minutes away on another ranch and therefore drove here in his place. But Willow is in good hands with me. I’ve been working as a vet for 5 years and I’ve already helped deliver several foals.” She smiled encouragingly at the good-looking rancher, which visibly lessened the tension in his face, especially in his jaw muscles.

“Thank you for getting here so fast,” he replied and smiled back tentatively. The nervousness in his eyes remained.

“Okay, this is Willow,” Marty explained and pointed at a beautiful palomino horse with a white mane, which was already clinging to her long face in streaks from the exertions of labor, when they arrived at Willow’s box. Buddy got up and sniffed Laura. He didn’t know this person, but he deemed her not dangerous. Laura barely noticed the dog’s greeting, as she was occupied with visualizing the current state of things. The amniotic sac was slowly showing. Marty wanted to help, but Laura held him back. “The mare knows what she has to do. Humans shouldn’t step in, unless there are complications.”

Marty admired her repose – and that wasn’t the only thing that he admired. Even though he was fully focused on Willow, it had not escaped him how extraordinarily pretty the new vet was.

Quickly glancing at the print on her shirt, he asked, “Maine? Are you from Maine?” Laura swiftly turned to him, and he was able to examine her crystal blue eyes for the first time.

„No, I was there on vacation last year,“she replied smiling. „And please call me Laura.“

There was a brief silence between the two of them, as they silently observed the birth. Then, Laura suggested to Marty that he should take care of the other horses, which had become restless. She would tell him when the foal arrived or if there were problems. Reluctantly, Marty grabbed the hay and distributed it among the horses in the stable, but he turned around every few minutes to peer in the direction of Willow‘s box. After the birth, it would be high time to let them out on the paddock. However, at the moment, he did not want to leave the mare alone, even if Dr. Mack…Laura was with her.

Soon, Marty was done feeding the horses and joined Laura again. She now looked more tense and suddenly stepped into Willow’s box.

“Marty, I think Willow could use our help,” she explained.

Marty, whose forehead was sweaty from the excitement, took off his jacket and jeans shirt in response, in order to help Laura with the delivery. While Marty was positioning himself in the hay, Laura caught a glance of his well-toned upper body, which was only covered in an undershirt now. She was close enough to smell his aftershave and she was sure that the warmth that she felt didn’t just come from the horse, but also from him.

  
  


Blushing, Laura briefly closed her eyes to concentrate on the animal that was lying in front of her in need of her help.

“Everything alright?” Marty asked her when he noticed that she seemed distracted.

Laura shook off the thoughts that had threatened to take root in her head. “ _Pull yourself together, Laura,”_ she admonished herself quietly. “ _Didn’t you learn anything from your last failed relationship?”_

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she lied. “On my signal, pull on the foal’s legs.”

“The legs?” Marty asked surprised, only noticing then that the hooves of the young horse were already appearing. Laura was not the only one who had temporarily been distracted.

Marty did as asked, and, with Willow‘s help, they pulled the baby animal into the world.

After an estimated 15 more minutes, they finally succeeded and the foal, a small stallion, was born.

Laura ensured that the newborn was alright and gave the mother and her child time to get to know each other. Marty groaned and stretched extensively before slowly getting up from the hay.

His pants, just as Laura‘s, were covered with hay stuck to dirt.

Relieved that everything had gone so well, he smiled at the veterinarian.

“I’m so glad that I left my Sunday suit in the closet,” he laughed and announced, “Time for breakfast!”

“I’m sure you could do with something to eat, too,” he addressed Laura. “After all, you’ve been out and about for longer than me.”

Laura considered the idea. Marty was right. Her stomach was now growling, and as long as she didn‘t receive a new call on her cell phone, she was off for three more hours. But could she just invite herself for breakfast? She hardly knew Marty. Nonetheless, she had felt a close connection to the horse keeper that was not just based on the joined experience of the miracle of birth.

Marty noticed Laura‘s hesitation and said, “Come on! I owe you.” When Laura didn‘t respond, he continued, “Here’s my suggestion: I take care of the horses, which really have to be taken out to the paddock. In the meantime, you think about my offer. I have tea, coffee, orange juice, toast, eggs, jam, bacon and ingredients for, in my opinion, damn good pancakes with maple syrup. Think about it.“

With those words, Marty started working on leading the horses out of the stable, Buddy in tow.

Laura indecisively watched them leave.


	3. Chapter 3

Eggs sizzling in a frying pan sounded too tempting, and Laura was in need of a strong coffee for sure.

The reason why she was nonetheless skeptical was that she had left enough failed relationships behind in San Diego and had enough of them for the foreseeable future. In any case, she was surprised that the rancher appeared to have made that much of an impression on her, without her even really knowing him. Apart from his good looks, he seemed to be nice, but looks could be deceiving, and maybe he just tried to wrap her around his finger with his charm. It would have certainly not been the first time that this happened.

However, maybe she was reading too much into things and Marty wasn‘t even interested in her and just intended to be nice. Perhaps he just wanted to have company while having breakfast.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that it seemed to Laura as if it had only taken Marty minutes to take the horses to the paddock. From where she was standing at the stable entrance, she already saw him approach in the distance, when he ambled back.

“My invitation stands. What‘s your decision?” he asked.

His hazel eyes looked at her expectantly and Laura felt more than just hunger in her stomach from his keen gaze.

“If you really don’t mind, I would like to accept your offer,” she responded, trying to hide her insecurity.

Marty beamed from ear to ear.

“Okay, then let’s go have breakfast!” he called – in Laura’s opinion – a little bit too enthusiastically.

He walked past Laura back to Willow’s box to grab his jeans shirt and jacket. It was still pretty chilly outside, as he had noticed out on the paddock.

Then, the three of them made their way back to the house, which was completely made of wood.

Marty appeared lost in thought, until he hesitantly asked Laura, when they almost reached the stairs up to the porch, “May I ask you something?”

“It depends on what the question is,” Laura responded skeptically.

“You’re not from here, are you?” Marty inquired tentatively and looked at her with curious eyes.

Laura raised her eyebrows and stopped in front of the steps.

“No, I’m originally from California; from San Diego, to be precise. Why are you asking?”

“Just a feeling. You seem more like a big city person and I’m generally good at reading people,” he explained.

They were both moving again and had reached the front door. Laura was puzzled when she saw Marty open the door without unlocking it first.

Marty noticed her expression and said, “Door locks are unnecessary here. At most, you have to worry about grizzlies and even those aren’t necessarily dangerous, if you know how to act around them.”

All gentleman, Marty motioned for her to come inside. “After you.”

Marty’s home looked even more cozy inside. The walls were almost completely covered in wood, except for the wall around the big fireplace, which was set against a stone wall. The furniture was rustic with many wooden pieces, carpets, and appropriate decoration – among other things, paintings of landscapes. Laura was relieved to not find any taxidermy in the form of hunting trophies.

She estimated that the house had 3 bedrooms, a lot of room for a bachelor. Unless...

“Do you live here alone?” Laura asked, as they were walking to the roomy kitchen together.

Marty nodded silently, as if there was more to the response. However, Laura did not want to dig deeper and sat down on one of the bar stools at the kitchen counter, while Marty began preparing breakfast. By now, Buddy had made himself comfortable in a plaid dog bed in the corner and was looking at Laura attentively.

When, after a few minutes, Laura became uncomfortable with the silence, she asked, “And what do you do for a living? I didn’t see any cows, chickens, or pigs, so I assume that you are not working as a farmer.”

“That’s right,” Marty answered and continued with his back turned to her. Laura was reminded of his back muscles, which she had seen through his under shirt earlier. She forcefully pushed the thought aside.

“Most of the money comes from riding lessons and tourist horseback excursions and...” Marty clarified.

He opened the stainless steel fridge door and asked, before finishing his previous sentence, “What would you like for breakfast?”

“Would a strong coffee with toast and a sunny-side up egg be too much trouble?” Laura queried bashfully and tucked a blazing red strand of hair behind her ear. With every passing minute, she became increasingly uncomfortable with inconveniencing him so much.

Marty turned around wearing a big smile on his face. “No, no problem at all! I enjoy making breakfast and coffee, toast, and sunny-side up eggs are something that I prepare for myself anyway.”

His reaction helped put Laura at ease. He really didn’t seem to mind.

Laura’s curiosity urged her to find out more about Marty’s response about his source of income. She wanted to learn as much as possible about him, among other things, to uncover issues early on, before she developed too many feelings.

“So, you mostly make money with the horses,” she lured.

“Oh, yeah, and I sometimes work as a police consultant, because I used to work as a profiler,” he added casually.

This piqued Laura’s interest.

“As a profiler?” she asked, surprised. So that was where his knowledge of human nature came from. “How did that happen, and what made you move here? You surely didn’t work as a criminal profiler here.”

Marty shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “No, I originally grew up in Massachusetts and then moved to Washington, D.C., later on. It all started with the abduction of my sister…”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had a silly pun in it that was tricky to translate. I hope I succeeded, and you enjoy this chapter.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee was already filling the room, when Marty told the story of his sister's abduction, while preparing the toasts. Laura had made herself comfortable and was sitting at the counter with her head resting on one of her hands, listening intently.

“I was 12 years old. My parents weren’t home.” His voice was not as full of happiness and vigor anymore as before and sounded much quieter and more distressed. Buddy whimpered, feeling the grief of his human and ran to Marty to gently nudge his leg with his snout.

“To be honest, I can hardly remember the details. I only know that it was late in the evening and we were sitting in the living room together. We had had a fight and I turned around, to storm out of the room, when my sister suddenly started to cry for help. I don’t know if it’s because the memory was so traumatic, but I can’t even remember the face of the abductor,” Marty’s voice was heavy with frustration. “The only thing that I’ll never forget is the fear. This feeling of helplessness…” Marty hung his head and Laura regretted that she inadvertently had torn open old wounds.

The food was ready, and Marty pushed the plate with Laura’s sunny-side up eggs, toast, and her cup of coffee in her direction. He sat down next to her – mounting the bar stool was visibly easier for him than for Laura, due to his height – and stared at his meal, as if he had lost his appetite. Laura was about to think that he had forgotten about her presence when he suddenly looked up and straight into her eyes. “I haven’t talked to anyone about it in forever,” he confessed. “I’m sorry if I ruined your mood. I just had a feeling… that I could trust you.” He held her gaze and she saw new emotions on his face: warmth and gratitude. This confidence was completely unfamiliar to Laura. She usually kept people at a distance, which led to them also staying distant to her emotionally, since they could not assess her.

They were both sitting enveloped in silence for a few seconds and Laura could feel her heart beat in her chest. His gentle voice and his gaze made her weak in the knees. She felt so vulnerable and didn’t know how to deal with this foreign situation. She hastily spread a piece of butter that was far too large on her slice of toast and took a hearty bite. “Delicious! Compliments to the chef!” she announced vociferously, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly, while wiping the bread crumbs from her mouth with a napkin.

Marty smiled only slightly, but did not say anything at first. He sensed what was going on inside her and decided to give her time. “In any case, the incident motivated me to find the perpetrator. I wanted to understand how such monsters think and therefore decided to major in Psychology to ultimately specialize in criminal profiling. Unfortunately, I could never solve the case, even after years. Working as a profiler became too emotionally exhausting, because I saw my sister in every abducted child. In addition, there was a failed relationship...”

He gulped and shot Laura a fleeting glance, as if he was ashamed to admit this in front of her. “...And I just wanted to leave D.C. and leave my old life behind.” Laura nodded unconsciously in agreement. His background did sound too similar to hers. Merely his family background was completely different from hers. Marty continued. “The idea to move to Wyoming was spontaneous. I had never been here, but I knew that, with my parents’ trust fund, my chances of finding a big secluded property were good. I expanded my existing knowledge about horses, and now I’m here.”

He had now started to prepare his own breakfast. First, he attended to the crunchy bacon strips, then the egg. Meanwhile, Laura reflected on his description of his childhood. Apparently, Laura had at least a few things in common with Marty. She couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity, although she had never met him before, and she already felt unusually comfortable in his presence. She repeatedly caught herself secretly eyeballing him. Besides his eyes, she was especially taken with his lips, especially his plump lower lip. Her eyes stopped on his strong hands, which seemed gentle at the same time. He noticed and first looked at his hands then at Laura, his eyebrows raised. Laura shook her head in response. Marty tried to read her face but failed and brought the conversation back to her.

“And what brought you here?” he asked. Laura did not know how much to divulge and went for the condensed version. “Ever since I was little, I have been interested in natural sciences and therefore decided to major in Biology, but then I changed my mind and chose Veterinary Medicine. I found zoology extremely fascinating, and I wanted to be involved more in the diagnosing of patients than if, for example, I had worked in a lab or as a teacher, because I can see directly how I am helping the animals. I was extremely intrigued by physiology and how problems in the body can lead to illnesses.” Her light blue eyes were twinkling and Marty noticed with amusement that, for the first time since they had met, Laura was gesturing enthusiastically while talking. Her passion for her occupation in combination with her apparent intelligence made her twice as attractive. “I had considered working as a doctor, in human medicine, but one sees results much more quickly in veterinary medicine,” Laura finished her explanation.

“Would you say that solving puzzle-like problems appeals to you the most?” Marty asked inquisitively. Laura nodded fiercely. “Definitely,” she responded with glowing eyes. “Every animal is different and has its own riddles. This is especially true, since my patients can’t talk, so one often has to be pretty creative to find the right diagnosis.” This answer made Marty beam. What a woman! He just discovered something else that he had in common with her, because he had also loved investigating the cause in his work as a profiler.

He remarked, “You said that you had another appointment in a few hours. “Where are you going?” “It’s just a routine exam on a pig farm; annual vaccinations, etc.,” Laura replied. This was noticeably less interesting to her than the aspects of her job that she had been raving about. “Which reminds me,” she added, “that Dr. Peters recently dealt with an interesting case. Apparently, the cows of one of the farmers in this area were mutilated at night, and no one can say how this happened. Even the sheriff was perplexed, which is why he called Dr. Peters for a consultation. Unfortunately, I was busy with a sterilization at the time and couldn’t take a look at the cows myself. It really sounded horrible.”

Marty pursed his lips pensively. He would have also liked to help with that case. What kind of human would do something like that? Before he was able to go over multiple theories in his head, Laura got up and said, “Okay, I should set off soon. Thanks a lot for breakfast. I should take another look at Willow and her foal, just to make sure that they are both still doing well,” she informed Marty. Disappointment darkened Marty’s features. Laura had just started to come out of her shell, and now she was supposed to leave again?

He reluctantly got up and accompanied her to the entrance to the stable. Buddy followed them and looked back and forth between Marty and Laura, as if they were both a part of his pack. “Did you decide on a name? Laura asked. It took Marty, who had been regarding Laura, lost in thought, a few seconds to understand what she meant. “Uh.. Name? Oh, yes, Bailey. I named the foal Bailey,” he replied sheepishly. Laura nodded approvingly. “Bailey fits well because of the color,” she observed, in relation to the foal’s cream-colored fur.

They had now arrived back at Willow’s box, in which Bailey was already standing and nursing from his mother. Laura stepped into the box with Willow and the foal and listened, among other things, to their heart beats. Everything seemed to be okay, which, of course, made Marty happy but also sad at the same time, because he knew that his time with Laura was over, for the time being. When Laura was finished, Marty asked hopefully, while his hands were playing with a rope, “When is the next preventive medical checkup?” Laura thought briefly. “Usually, there should be one 12 to 18 hours after the birth. If it’s not inconvenient for you, I can come over again tonight.” This made Marty beam again. “Are you going to do the exam?” Marty already mentally prepared for disappointment. He liked Dr. Peters a lot, but he needed a good excuse for seeing Laura again. He did not dare to invite her directly, yet.

“Yes, probably,” Laura replied, and Marty felt a wave of relief wash over him. “Unless, you want to seize the opportunity to catch up with Dr. Peters.” “Seize?” Marty joked and threw the noose of the lasso that he had tied from the rope on a pole close to Laura. This made her grin. “No, I’d be happy if you could perform the exam,” Marty confessed. Grabbing her jacket and doctor’s bag, Laura suggested, “Maybe you can show me your lasso skills.” She winked at him, and a whole swarm of butterflies started to beat its wings in Marty’s stomach.

They said their goodbyes and Marty waved in the direction of her car, as she drove off. Buddy’s face also showed that he would miss Laura. Only when Laura had left the property and turned into the street did Marty remember that he still didn’t know why Laura had moved to Wyoming.


	5. Chapter 5

Marty hadn’t felt this way in a long time. He had not experienced such emotional turmoil since high school. Did Laura share his feelings? He believed to have seen her peering at him a few times. Laura was a hard nut to crack, but she had left an impression on him, and now there was no turning back. Marty already could not wait to see her again. Feverishly, he thought about how he could convince her to stay, after examining the horses. He hoped to persuade her to stick around for dinner, since the timing worked, and she seemed to have enjoyed breakfast with him.

Marty spent the majority of the day lost in thought, until his phone rang at around 3 PM. He was glad that he happened to be inside, as he had spent all day outdoors and had therefore almost missed the call. His heart beat quickly, because he already had a feeling that the caller was Laura. After all, he almost never received calls, and Laura was bound to have his number from the veterinary practice.

“Hello?” he asked nervously and ran his hand through his hair, as he often did.

“Hello, this is Laura Mack. Marty, is that you?” he heard her say hesitantly, from the other end of the line.

“Yes, Laura. It’s me. How are you?” Marty asked anxiously.

“Uhm...about the same as this morning,” she replied. “Still, thanks for asking. Is it okay if I come over at 6 PM? I still have to take care of a few things, but I’m free afterwards,” she explained.

“Yeah, 6 PM sounds great,” Marty replied enthusiastically with the phone pressed against his ear, while pacing up and down, as far the phone cord allowed him to. He added, “Say, do you maybe want to stay for dinner?”

The line remained silent for a few seconds, and Marty expected the worst.

“Marty, you already went through the trouble of preparing breakfast for me…” Laura started, but Marty interrupted her.

“Laura, I didn’t mind at all. I even enjoyed the company.” He flinched. _Too personal?_ “I would love to have you over for dinner, so that we can continue our conversation from this morning. What do you like to eat? Is there anything that you don’t like at all?” His words were practically tumbling over each other.

Laura took a second to reflect, then she answered, “I eat pretty much anything. I’m not very picky.”

“How about pasta?” Marty asked immediately. Pasta was always popular.

“Pasta sounds good,” Laura replied, although he could still hear skepticism in her voice.

Marty was already planning a full course meal in his head. Fortunately, he still had enough time to drive into town and buy the missing ingredients.

“Great! I’m looking forward to it,” he informed her beaming. “See you at 6 PM!”

“Yes, see you later. Bye,” Laura bid farewell. She was less thrilled than him but not reluctant concerning the change of plans.

Marty heard a clicking sound from the other end of the receiver and hung up. He noticed that his hands were sweaty. He really did act like a teenager in love. But he didn’t have anything to be afraid of, when it came to Laura – except for maybe a broken heart. Marty emitted a deep sigh and rubbed his face. Was he acting prematurely? Should he have let things simmer and given Laura more time for their first date (Did she consider it a date?)? Well, it was too late now, anyway.

Marty pensively put his leather shoes back on and set off for town.

* * *

When Marty heard Laura drive up at 5:54 PM, he was already done preparing dinner. The table was set, the food was ready, and Marty had had more than enough time to change clothes. After a lot of back and forth, he had chosen a pair of black jeans and a tight heather gray henley shirt. A few of the shirt’s top buttons were left open and his sleeves were rolled up for practical reasons.

Marty opened the front door to greet Laura, who had also changed into a different outfit. She was not wearing rubber boots anymore but black shoes with low heels. Instead of a T-shirt, she was now wearing a low-cut emerald green cardigan and stone gray pants. Marty waved in her direction, and a smile spread across his face.

“Hi,” Marty called in her direction.

“Hi,” Laura replied and climbed the front steps. She pointed at her outfit. “Not very practical for later, but after all that dirt, I needed new clothes,” she explained.

Marty nodded. His mud-covered jeans from earlier were already in the washing machine. He stepped aside to allow Laura to enter. As soon as she set foot in his house, a delicious smell wafted into her nose.

“Yum!” she said. “That smells tasty. What did you cook?”

“My specialty: Spaghetti Carbonara,” Marty replied. He was especially proud of his recipe, and the way to someone’s heart was through their stomach. Hopefully, he could win Laura over with his cooking. She did seem less reserved than during breakfast. Marty showed her the way to the dining room and started serving the meal.

Laura had only had a quick glance at his dining room, which bordered the kitchen, during her last visit, so she used the time in which Marty was busy to look around. The dining table stood on top of a big rug between the kitchen and the couch in front of the fireplace. The table and the eight chairs around it were made of dark wood, while the seat of the chairs was made from smooth leather. The embellishment of the chairs and table was simple, just as Laura liked it. Above the table, a ring-shaped suspended metal luminaire with ornaments and yellow tulip-shaped luminescent screens shed a soft warm light on the room. It almost looked as if the lighting was imitating the twilight that could be seen through the big windows.

A languorous feeling went through Laura’s body, as if she had known this house forever; as if she lived here herself. Marty struck a similar chord in her with his kind-heartedness and uncomplicated manner. Would she be able to find a place to call her home through a relationship? Laura sat down, just as Marty came from the kitchen with two plates. He placed them on the table and turned around to get two bottles of wine from a nearby cabinet.

“Pinot Noir or Chardonnay?” he asked, showing her the bottles.

Laura seemed unsure.

“I have a Dom Pérignon Brut Rose from 1984 and a Domaine Julie Belland Criots Batard Montrachet Grand Cru,” Marty read the bottle labels in close to perfect French.

Laura nodded appreciatively. “You made good use of your trust funds,” she teased him.

Marty shrugged. “For a long time, I never treated myself and I live, the big property aside, pretty ascetically here, so I can allow myself a good wine, every once in a while.” He did not want her to get the wrong impression.

“I take the Pinot Noir,” Laura decided. Marty poured her the red wine, but he poured white wine in his own glass.

Marty sat down opposite Laura and explained, “By the way, I’m not that rich. My parents had money and, for example, a summer residence, but we never lived in a big mansion. My parents were very frugal.”

Laura did not retort. They both started to eat in silence, until Marty noted, “You haven’t told me, yet, why you moved to Wyoming.”

Laura put down her cutlery, took a deep breath, and slowly responded, “My sister died a few years ago. On top of that, there was a very difficult relationship. I had to get out of San Diego.”

Marty nodded sympathetically, while Laura emptied her half-full wine glass.

“You don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to, but how did she die?”

Laura closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. First, it looked as if she did not want to reply, then she said with a shaky voice, “She was murdered. A mugger stabbed her on her way home one night.”

Marty was stunned. In a knee-jerk reaction, he put his hand on Laura’s. “I am so sorry, Laura. I had no idea. I didn’t mean to…” He fell silent and Laura vehemently shook her head.

“There was no way you could have known. Nonetheless, I’d rather not talk about it anymore.”

She carefully pulled her hand away from his, scolding herself for briefly resting her eyes on his muscular forearm, emptied the rest of her wine glass and went back to eating.

Marty regarded Laura. The golden lamp light turned her hair blazing red and, together with the wine, made her cheeks glow. Her eyes were watery, but she seemed to compose herself slowly.

“Should I turn on some music?” Marty asked, hoping that it would relax the mood.

“Yes, please,” Laura responded, but it seemed like she did not care much either way at that moment.

Marty grabbed the remote control for the stereo and ‘Hotel California’ started to play. Laura’s face lit up.

“Hotel California!” she exclaimed excitedly. “I got that record as a teenager for Christmas!”

For the next half hour, Marty and Laura passionately talked about music and discovered many things that they had in common. Laura barely seemed to notice that she asked Marty for more wine multiple times and that she was emptying the bottle bit by bit. He himself held back on his drinking. For a long time, he had used alcohol to forget, but that night, he wanted to remember every little detail. By no means did he intend to make Laura drunk, but she was old enough to decide for herself how much she could handle. As far as he could tell, she was not too tipsy, yet.

After eating, they both got up laughing. “Time to check on Willow and Bailey!” Laura, who was now in much better spirits, declared, and they made their way to the stable.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing and translating this chapter. You'll see why. :)  
> I hope you enjoy it, as well.

Only when Laura set off to the stable did Marty notice that Laura’s balance was not in the best state anymore. She was already swaying slightly and almost stumbled multiple times. It was cute to see the usually reserved Laura relaxed and laughing. Marty did not let her out of his sight, especially since it was already dark, and obstacles were hard to see on the weakly-lit path.

Finally, with Laura half-walking and half-wobbling, they safely reached Willow’s box, and Marty was surprised, how unerringly she chose the respective medical tools and performed the exam. Laura noticed his glance and grinned.

“Told you that I have experience with this. Icandoit immy sleep.” Her voice was starting to slur, and the words were partially running together. “It’ll be your turn in a moment,” she warned him, winking, and Marty was unsure what she meant by that. However, the answer already came a few minutes later, when Laura tottered towards him, the stethoscope outstretched.

“Lemme listen to your h…” Before she could complete the sentence, she stumbled forward. Marty, who had continued to be vigilant, gently caught her with his hands on her hips.

“I think it’s time for us to make our way back,” Marty said quietly and slowly let go of Laura again. Laura appeared disappointed, but she packed the stethoscope into her doctor’s bag and followed Marty outside. As soon as she left the stable, Laura stopped abruptly, dropped her bag, and stared into the sky with her mouth open.

The night was clear and, far away from the city, the stars were especially easy to see that night. The view was spectacular. For a while, it was silent, as they both stood and marveled at the nocturnal sky. Laura broke the silence.

“D’you think that somewhere out there, theresaworld like thisone?” she slurred in fascination. “A world, in which we awsso essist, but our lives are compleeeetely different?”

“Not out there. Maybe in a parallel universe,” Marty responded pensively.

“Maybe we work together, there,” Laura mused, but then she immediately changed her mind and giggled, “Imposssssible, because I could neeeever keepmy handsoffyou.”

Saying those words, she hugged him heartily and emitted a deep sigh. “Marty, you’re a dreamman,” she announced, which made Marty smile.

Out of nowhere, Laura suddenly got on the tips of her toes and seized his neck to pull him down to her. First, her eyes focused on his, then they wandered down to his mouth, which she tried to reach with her lips. Marty saw through her plan, removed her hands from his neck, and carefully pushed her away.

“Maaaarty! What are you doing to me?” Laura whined and tried to pull him closer to herself by the seam of his shirt. Doing so, she accidentally lifted part of his shirt. For the fraction of a second, she saw his toned abs and felt the warmth of his skin under her fingers. The touch felt like a jolt of electricity that stirred every nerve in Marty’s body and covered his skin in goosebumps. He flinched, and, before he could decide otherwise, he pulled his shirt back down. He was breathing fast, and his pulse was racing.

“Laura, please stop. I don’t want you to do anything that you might regret tomorrow,” he apologized – in vain, because Laura wasn’t having any of it.

“I’m not drunk, I’m just tisssy,” she complained loudly, but Marty doubted this.

Laura leaned back and beamed at him with glazed eyes, her cheeks flushed. Marty was sure that he had never seen a more beautiful woman. Lost in her crystal blue eyes, he barely noticed Laura approaching his lips, this time in slow motion. Only when their faces were separated by just about an inch, he mumbled hoarsely, “Are you sure that you…?” But her lips, warm and soft, were already touching his and cut him short. The kiss was tentative but full of love. After the kiss, Marty tenderly wiped a few strands of hair off her forehead and said, “Come one, let’s go inside. It’s way too cold out here.”

He was right, even if Laura did not notice this right away, due to her drunk state. Her cardigan was way too thin for the chilly temperatures. Despite his concerns that Laura would regret her advances the next morning, Marty paid no heed to his worries and put his arm around Laura’s narrow waist before they started moving again, to keep her from falling again. In his other hand, he carried her doctor’s bag.

Back at the house, Laura was much too hyper to lay down  to sleep  in the guest b e d, as Marty had suggested. She insisted on sitting in front of the fireplace with Marty instead and to drink a mug of hot chocolate, wrapped in a blanket. As long as Laura did not get any ideas, such as driving home by car or tried to seduce him (Marty did not want to pride himself too much in his attractiveness, but he wouldn’t put anything past Laura in her present state), he would grant her every wish.

The two of them sat up until late at night, and Marty finally heard the full story about Laura’s move, like that the police had given up on the case about her sister’s death much too fast, and how her friend had not understood that maybe proposing right after the funeral was not the best time. In return, Marty told her about his often absent father and aloof mother, whom he left without looking back, after his family fell apart with his sister’s disappearance and how he caught his fiancee, Tami, with the chief of police. The conversation was serious, but both of them were relieved to be able to confide in each other. Marty hoped that, if Laura was going to become distant again initially after the day was over, he could at least hope to be friends with her.

At around 1 AM, Laura fell asleep from exhaustion on the couch. Marty tucked her in affectionately, hit the light switch, and asked himself what the next day was going to bring.


	7. Chapter 7

When Marty got up the next day to check on Laura, she had already disappeared.  He would have liked to talk to her to find out, if she regretted her advances from the previous night. Since she had left in silence, he feared for the worst and that she was going to avoid him from that day on. The joy that he had felt less than 8 hours prior dissipated and sadness settled in. Just as he had found the woman of his dreams, fate put a monkey wrench in the works. He did not even have her phone number.

Sighing, he set about cleaning up the living room. Laura had left the blanket, which still smelled of her perfume, neatly folded on the couch. Her wine glass sat empty on the coffee table. Only her deep red lipstick on the brim of the glass was a witness to her presence the previous night. Lost in thought, Marty moved  his index finger over  his lips. He could still feel Laura‘s mouth on his; her warm hands on his neck. Usually, Marty loved his solitary life, but  at that moment he just felt terribly alone.

* * *

Laura had decided to make her departure from Marty‘s place as uncomplicated as possible. Her buzzing skull made it hard to form a coherent thought, but it seemed obvious to her that the previous night had been a big mistake. She could only remember fragments of the events, but she re called that she had acted uninhibited, and had forced a kiss on Marty, who had clearly been reluctant. What had she been thinking, drinking the whole bottle by herself? She blamed her nervousness. In Marty‘s presence, she couldn‘t think straight. In addition, her conversation with him had brought back painful memories.

Laura fervently hoped that no one saw her driving home from Marty‘s house. Her hair was tousled and her makeup smudged. Thankfully, she always had sunglasses in her glove compartment, because the early morning sunlight was unbearable for her tired eyes and pounding headache. Technically, she was supposed to already be on her way to work, but she couldn‘t even think about showing up at the veterinary practice in her current condition.

After a swift ice-cold shower, a painkiller, and a hasty changing of clothes, Laura arrived at work at 7:30 a.m.. The sunglasses conveniently not only helped with the garish light, but also hid Laura‘s bloodshot eyes. Laura threw Judy, a shy blonde in her early 20s, who was manning the reception, a forced smile and grabbed a donut in the breakroom. Much too sweet, but it was something. There was no time for breakfast, because the first patients could come anytime. As always, the coffee from the thermos flask left much to be desired, but it was strong enough to hold Laura over for the next few hours, until she was able to buy better coffee during a break.

After taking a bite from the donut and a few gulps of coffee, Laura was as ready for the day as she could be, given the circumstances. Strengthened, she went back to the reception desk and greeted Judy more extensively.

“Hello Judy!”

“Hi Laura!”

“I don’t know if Dr. Peters told you, but I was at Marty Payne’s place again last night to check on his mare Willow and her foal Bailey. Here are the examination results for the file.” She held the folder in Judy’s direction. At exactly that moment, Dr. Peters entered the room.

Dr. Peters was in his mid-70s and the owner of the clinic. More and more often he needed Laura’s help with house calls, because the bodily demands of the job were starting to cause him  difficulty . Laura hoped that she could convince him to make him the co-owner, by means of her outstanding performance. During her time at the clinic, she had built good contacts with existing regulars, and Dr. Peters had told her that he had regularly received excellent feedback. Merely the fact that Dr. Peters was generally very conservative could stand in her way. If he had the choice between a long-time (male) friend, a (male) relative, and her, he was probably not going to choose her. However, Laura did not give up hope.

“Laura!” Dr. Peters now called. “It’s good that you’re here, but you were already supposed to be here at 7 o’clock.” He gave her a reproachful look. Laura wondered whether her hangover-induced pallor was working to her advantage by hiding her blushing. She didn’t want to ruin her reputation.

“Hello George! I’m sorry I’m late. I woke up with a terrible migraine this morning and had trouble getting ready. I left you a message on your answering machine at around 5:30 a.m.,” she explained truthfully.

She continued, “I was just about to give Judy my exam results from last night for Marty Payne’s mare. As I’m sure you remembered, I worked late to make that special house call.”

Dr. Peters nodded kindheartedly, took the folder out of Laura’s hand and looked at her notes. Perplexed, he turned to face her.

“Laura, I’m sorry, but I can’t decipher your notes. Usually, your handwriting is easy to read, but I have no idea what you wrote here,” he said, confused.

Laura hastily reached for the documents and saw immediately what the vet was talking about. The report with the examination results was useless. Her handwriting was so illegible that she might as well have written hieroglyphics. She had awoken with the knowledge that she had completed the report, but she could not remember how and when this had happened. Since she had been in a hurry, she had not checked the documents. Most likely, she had already been hammered when writing the notes. Shoot! Hopefully,  this something so incompetent, didn’t cause her to fall out of favor with Dr. Peters.

Laura stammered, “I already didn’t feel well last night, and that must have had an effect on my handwriting.”

Dr. Peters seemed to accept this explanation, but he suggested exactly what Laura had wanted to avoid at all costs.

“Laura, I fear you have to go back to Marty’s house and redo the examination, even though the foal is already more than a day old now. Afterwards, you can take the rest of the day off. I know that you are usually punctual and do a good job, but I can see that you are groggy today. I hope that you’ll feel better tomorrow.”

He smiled at her sympathetically. Laura was grateful for him being so understanding and for his generous offer. She planned on taking a break, but to go back to work afterwards, in order to show ambition.

“ Thanks a lot, George. I’ll leave right away.” After uttering those words, she briskly left the clinic.


	8. Chapter 8

Even though Laura had promised to drive to Marty’s ranch immediately, she delayed meeting Marty again by treating herself to another cup of coffee and forcing herself to eat a bagel with cream cheese, even though doing so made her nauseous. Fortunately, the headache was growing weaker, but Laura was nonetheless very cranky. She was both angry with herself and Marty, although she could not really explain the latter. Why didn’t he want her? The question echoed in her head. She wished she could forget his caring hazel eyes, how his lips had barely opened during their kiss, or how warm and soft his skin had felt under his shirt. However, all of this paled in comparison to how much she had fallen in love with his personality. His gentle manner paired with his youthful playfulness and his intelligence had blown her away.

Now she was on her way back to him for her third visit within 24 hours. It seemed as if she had stepped into an energy field that irrevocably brought her back to him again and again. She had no clue how she was going to act towards him or what she was supposed to tell him. She hated it when things were in limbo. She wanted clarity, but would she be able to discuss the situation?

* * *

Marty tried to distract himself from his pain by fully immersing himself in his work. On the ranch, one could always find projects that had to be tackled; a picket that had to be straightened, or a trough that had to be replaced. Although he already had his hands full, Marty was happy when Kristi Hansen came over for riding lessons. Marty knew that the attractive brunette was interested in him, but he could not share her fondness and he did not want to be the subject of the town gossip that would start if he started something with a freshly-divorced woman, anyway. At least, he was going to be busy for the next few hours.

As usual, Kristi was trying to get close to him and continuously flirted with him. Just as she asked him to help her onto the horse with exaggerated desperation, her behind in her tight pants theatrically lifted into the air, Marty heard footsteps on the gravel behind him and saw Buddy get up to greet the new arrival, his tail wagging. Marty turned around surprised, as he had not heard a car in the driveway, and saw Laura standing in front of him.

* * *

Laura sat in her car in front of Marty’s house for a while to encourage herself. Luckily, Marty appeared to not have noticed her arrival – or maybe he was ignoring her deliberately. Laura breathed in and out deeply multiple times. It did not help that she was ashamed of her clothes. Her outfit during her previous morning visit had been a combination of some of her favorite clothing items, but since she didn’t know that she was going to see the handsome rancher again after their dinner together, she had chosen a more comfortable combination of clothes that was much less modern and  less  fitted. She was wearing brown hiking boots, a pair of loose-fitting white jeans, and a gray T-shirt with a  big red-and-white checkered flannel shirt. At least, she could hide her embarrassment about her appearance behind her big sunglasses.

About 10 minutes later, she finally decided to look for Marty to inform him of the new examination. He did not respond when she knocked on his front door. Since she had already suspected that he was probably in the stable or elsewhere on the property, she started  searching for him . When she got close to the stable, she already heard a shrill female voice laughing, followed by Marty’s typical mumbling. It seemed like Marty was in the paddock.

Laura already saw him from far away, immersed in an activity with a shapely brunette that was practically shoving her rear end in his face. She apparently tried to climb on the horse but failed.

“ Marty, help me! I can’t get up,” she cackled,  her voice stentorian.

Laura’s mood had already not been very good, but this woman, whoever she was, was getting on her nerves. Marty hesitated, seemingly trying to find a way to help the wannabe equestrienne, without touching her inappropriately, when Buddy happily ran towards Laura to greet her. Marty noticed her and turned around.

“Laura!” he exclaimed, befuddled, as if he had just seen a ghost. He stared at her with his mouth open. He momentarily forgot how to breathe.

“Marty, honey, who is that?” the brunette, who was now standing next to the horse with her arms crossed and stared at Laura with a fake friendly smile, asked. If looks could kill, Laura and the stranger could have been involved in an eye duel for life and death, if Laura hadn't worn her protective shield in the form of the sunglasses.

“I’m his veterinarian,” Laura replied ice cold. As long as she focused on the bimbo, she couldn’t fall for Marty’s charm. He looked alluringly handsome again, and she had also noticed something else.

* * *

“Why are you wearing the same clothes?” Kristi noticed, confused.

Indeed, Marty was dressed in an astoundingly similar way with his light-colored jeans, white T-shirt, black-and-red checkered flannel shirt and beige leather boots. He smirked about this coincidence. Another thing that they had in common. Even though Laura had looked sexier in her tight clothes, Marty considered her indescribably beautiful in her current look. She had said that she was _his_ vet, so, he was going to see her more often, and maybe she was going to become more than just his vet. Hope returned to Marty’s heart. He sensed the tension between the two women and felt honored that Laura appeared to be jealous. Maybe she was interested in him, after all.

“What are you doing here?” Marty asked so quietly that only Laura could hear it. He was hoping that she was visiting to open up to him.

“There was a problem with the documents for the horses,” Laura explained. “I have to redo the exam from last night.”

Marty’s heart sank at those words. So, she was only there for purely professional reasons.

“Can I accompany you to the stable?” he asked tentatively.

Laura looked back and forth between him and Kristi.

“And what about her?” she asked, although it sounded as if she was hardly interested in what would happen to Kristi.

“Kristi, do you mind if we postpone today’s riding lesson? The exam is really very important,” Marty asked.

Now, it was Kristi’s turn to stare with an open mouth.

“But we just got started,” she protested.

Marty shrugged. “I’m sorry, Kristi, but this takes priority.” She had no idea how much more than the exam was included in “this”. He would drop anything for Laura anytime.

Kristi snorted angrily, threw Laura another angry glance, and said goodbye.

Laura grimaced while watching her leave. “’Marty, honey’?” she asked with raised eyebrows. Marty shook his head.

“She’s been trying to convince me to go on a date with her for months, although she’s not my type, at all.”

Marty wasn’t sure if he was just imagining this, but Laura seemed to relax, upon hearing his response.

“ Just let me quickly remove the harness, then we can go to the stable together,” Marty asked. Soon after, they set off.


	9. Chapter 9

“I‘m sorry for showing up here uninvited. I only found out about an hour ago that there are issues with the report,” Laura apologized.

Marty dismissed her apology.

“No problem. I‘m glad that you‘re back,” he answered and looked at her with his head tilted. Because of her sunglasses, he couldn‘t read her reaction to his reassurance.

“May I ask what the problem was?” he inquired.

Laura wordlessly handed him the folder, which still contained the old report. First, Marty looked at her with a quizzical look on his face, since he did not understand how he, a layman, was supposed to identify the issue. Once he looked at the report, a grin spread across his face.

“Laura, your notes are illegible,” he snorted with laughter. “Is it because you had a little too much to drink yesterday?”

Laura didn’t say anything and glanced over  at him with a humiliated smile.

Marty returned the folder to her, and Laura started, “About last night…”

Marty’s pulse quickened, but the loud opening of the stable door interrupted the ir conversation. Laura took off her sunglasses, because she was not going to see well enough in the dark stable wearing them. She shook her head and looked down on the straw-covered stable floor, until they arrived in front of Willow’s box,  where she said, “Marty, I really had a lot of fun with you, and I am sorry that  my actions toward you were so unacceptable . I didn’t have the right to blindside you like that.”

Marty fiercely shook his head. He stepped closer and carefully took her left hand.

“Laura, you have no idea how much it means to me that you revealed your feelings,” he confessed, almost whispering.

Hearing her name come out of his mouth gave her the familiar comforting feeling that had already overcome her the previous day. When Marty slowly stroked her hand, she got goosebumps. She hoped that her distressed stomach could withstand the intense feelings.

“ Marty,” she croaked in a low voice. She was unable to say more because Marty was now standing directly in front of her. His eyes seemed to look deep into her heart and begged her to meet his lips. Absentmindedly, Laura noticed how tiny she physically felt in front of him, since he was so much taller than her. However, she seemed to grow with his love for her at the same time. His gaze told her that she was unique and worthy of being adored; so much bigger than him. The responsible part of her brain  informed her that she had a job to complete, but that voice fell silent immediately, when Marty came even closer and their lips met.

Their first kiss had already been breathtaking, but the second one managed to even outdo  the first one . Marty held her face in his hands, while she ran her hands through his hair. When Laura voraciously conquered his lips, a silent moan escaped him. He slowly started to explore her mouth with his tongue, and her tongue joined him in this passionate dance.

Marty’s hands first hesitantly wandered to the first button of her flannel shirt. Then, when he sensed how much Laura desired him, he slowly started to unbutton her shirt. Meanwhile, Laura’s hands found their way under Marty’s shirt. _So warm. How could his skin be that hot? He was positively smoldering._ Marty saw her touch as an invitation to take off his own T-shirt, but Laura breathlessly held him back.

She interrupted their ecstatic kiss and panted, “Not here.” Marty took a step back to look into her eyes with an inquiring look on his face. Laura, whose legs had become so weak by then that she had to lean against the stable wall, taking deep breaths, was fighting an inner battle to give in to her feelings. Marty’s intent gaze threatened to make her melt away. She closed her eyes and repeated, “Not here.” When she opened her eyes again, he was standing directly in front of her. He gently moved the hair out of her face.

“Okay,” he whispered and gave her one last gentle kiss. “I can wait.”

* * *

‘Later’ didn’t mean ‘never’. Even though Marty had to pull himself together, he was more than willing to wait, until they were in a more suitable location. He had completely fallen under Laura’s spell and would do anything in order to not lose her. Their love was still so delicate, and he knew how carefully Laura approached relationships. One wrong action, and everything could already be over. He did not want to think about what kind of relationship they had presently and how it would evolve. He had decided to go with the flow, for the time being.

After their last kiss, Laura started examining the two horses. As expected, both were healthy, and the next exam was due within the next two weeks, depending on whether there were digestive problems or  problems with feeding. Marty nodded while listening to Laura’s explanations about the expected development of the foal. When she was done, he looked at her expectantly.

“Although you look stunning, you are still a bit green around the gills. How about a matching green tea with ginger?” he suggested, winking at her. Laura found the idea of a hot mug of tea appealing, especially if she could sip on that mug cuddling with Marty on his couch.

“ I would love that ,” she smiled and took his hand, which he had  held out stretched in her direction. As she had noticed before, his hands, just like the rest of his body, were big, and her hand practically disappeared in his, as they were walking back to the house hand in hand. They repeatedly looked at each other smiling, and Laura could see the twinkle in his eyes as the answer to the question that she had asked herself the previous night: Yes, she had found a home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the final chapter. Thanks for everyone who followed this story. I hope you enjoy the ending. Since I enjoyed writing this AU so much, there might be more stories like this in the future.


End file.
